With 1:15 left in the contest, a crowded Memorial Gymnasium roared after Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton jumper gave the Commodores a 94-92 lead.
Looking for an answer, Boogie Fland brought the ball up the court. Unable to shake off his defender, Fland gave Xavian Lee a chance for the potential game-winning shot. After taking a Thomas Haugh screen, the senior guard, who wore No. 99 Saturday, took the ball with his left hand and stepped back for a three. Splash.
Lee, who struggled from beyond the arc for a majority of the season, hit his biggest shot as a Gator, giving UF a 95-94 lead with 45 seconds left and silencing the Vanderbilt crowd.
“I try to shoot every shot with confidence, whether they going in or not," Lee said. "Late-clock. I think Rueben and Condo were down low and really didn’t have much space to go by them. I just thought, ‘Got to go up.’”
After back-to-back defensive stops, Florida (13-5, 4-1 SEC) pulled off the upset 98-94 over No. 10 Vanderbilt (16-2, 3-2 SEC). Lee finished the contest with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and six rebounds while sporting his new-look jersey number, a result of some equipment complications in travel. Alongside Lee, Fland and Micah Handlogten wore No. 33 and No. 34, respectively, with Fland borrowing junior Cooper Josefsberg’s jersey.
"We left the jerseys at home ... Everything's under my jurisdiction, but I don't necessarily check to see if we have the jersey before we leave," head coach Todd Golden said. "I would like (Lee) to wear 99 the rest of the year. We’ll see how that goes.”
Lee was also impactful in the first half with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting. His back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Gators a 30-19 lead with 9:13 left in the first half.
Behind Lee, Rueben Chinyelu picked up his 10th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The junior center did a majority of his damage in the second half, recording 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting. He made four-straight free throws after a flagrant foul on McGlockton, leading to a 7-0 run that gave the Gators a 51-49 lead with 18:51 to go.
Defensively, Chinyelu made his mark with three blocks, all of which came in the second half. His rejection of Tyler Tanner’s 13-foot jumper led to an Urban Klavzar 3-pointer, giving Florida a 60-51 lead with 15:23 left in the contest.
Haugh finished the game with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds. The junior forward logged 11 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer that capped off the seven-point swing for the Gators. Later in the contest, Haugh’s and-one gave UF a five-point lead with 5:11 to go.
To round off Florida’s frontcourt, Alex Condon recorded 16 points and eight rebounds. Despite being heckled with “airball” chants from the Vanderbilt crowd, the Aussie finished the first half, leading Florida with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
His sole 3-pointer in the first half gave UF its first lead of the game 13-12 with 14:07 left. This shot helped fuel Florida to a 17-2 run and 30-19 lead. Condon also came up clutch, hitting two free throws to clinch the victory.
“Yeah, Alex is an incredible competitor, man," Golden said. "I think some people might get fazed by the fans yelling at him or chanting at him. I think he enjoys it. I think it rallies him. He's incredibly tough kid. Like, that's not going to bother him. He's just gonna continue to play."
Off the bench, Isaiah Brown provided the Gators with his highest scoring output of the season on his birthday.
The sophomore guard finished with 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting. At the break, he had nine points, including 4-of-4 shooting from the line. His put-back slam off a Fland missed jumper gave UF a 40-36 advantage before the half. In the second half, his 3-pointer put the Gators up 74-73 with 8:40 left.
On the defensive end, his block led to a Lee layup, giving the Gators a 62-60 lead with 12:13 left in the second half.
“An amazing birthday present," Brown said. "That was on my mind, how to bring that win home.”
Vanderbilt’s offensive attack was led by Tyler Tanner. The sophomore guard finished the contest with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. With 4:03 left in the game, his 3-pointer cut the Commodores’ deficit to two.
Four other Commodores scored 14-plus points in the contest, all seniors. AK Okereke and Duke Miles had 15 points, while Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington both added 14 points.
Florida will look to win its fifth straight game against LSU (12-5, 0-4 SEC) Tuesday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
